The Demon I Cling To
by Chika Croi
Summary: Rin can never really stop the nightmares from coming when Lord Sesshomaru is away. Rated T for mentions of graphic violence. One-Shot.


**Author's Note:** Okay, first of all, I want to go ahead and clarify where I stand on the whole relationship between Sesshomaru and Rin stand. Most people either say father/daughter or a romantic relationship. As far as the romantic relationship goes, I don't have a problem with it in a sense that I believe in the future when Rin is old enough I think they would be together in that way. However, it's difficult for me to imagine her as anything other than an eleven year old girl. And considering how Sesshomaru showed absolutely no romantic or sexual intent towards Rin during the series, that's typically where I stand on that when I think of them. As far as the father/daughter relationship goes, I don't think that fits either. He's a guardian to her, yes. But not really in a 'paternal' way.

I believe that Sesshomaru has a deep love for Rin that cannot be defined. And I believe Rin loves Sesshomaru in every way that a human can love another person. It's not romantic, it's not paternal, it's not friendship, it's not family. He just feels love for her (despite the fact that his pride won't let him admit it) and she feels love for him (not that she needs him to admit it because she knows already). And that's pretty much the only way I can ever see their relationship, which is why I love it so much. xD.

Secondly, I'm not really sure what this is exactly. I just wanted to write some sort of fluff between them that didn't make Sesshomaru seem completely OOC. I also need to practice on my Sesshomaru writing skills. He's such a difficult character to pin down because he shows no emotions...which is awesome but a pain in the ass when writing with him. Anyways, I'll shush now. I hope you enjoy. Please be kind and leave a review to let me know what you think or how I did. :3

**To the Reviewer overninethousand:** Don't post a review like that and then turn off the ability to PM you, because then I can't respond. :3 Don't give me stupid links of other peoples opinions. I don't care. Sesshomaru and Kagura are not canon. Could it have happened? Sure. I don't necessarily have a problem with Sesshomaru/Kagura, but considering how Kagura died before there was any romantic intent (and for the love of all that is good don't mistake compassion, the one thing Sesshomaru still needed to learn, with returned feelings of love), it's not canon. Kagura loved Sesshomaru and Sesshomaru felt compassion for Kagura in her death, but the 'love' portion of it was unrequited on Sesshomaru's part. And, if you would have read my A/N, you would already know that I don't see Rin and Sesshomaru as a romantic pairing at this stage in her life and why I also think it's much more than a father/daughter relationship.

Thank you for reading and leaving a review, maybe next time try leaving your own opinion instead of giving me links to somebody else's. And for the love of all that is good, don't leave a review and shut off your PMing option. Not only is it rude and annoying but it hints that you're a troller. ^_^

**Disclaimer: **If you recognize it, I don't own it.

* * *

**The Demon I Cling To**

_There was blood everywhere. A little girl's eyes were wide with fright and her mouth was open in horror. She was so terrified she couldn't move a single part of her body. She could only watch as a band of thieves continued to hack away at her family. She couldn't understand it. Her family wasn't rich, nor did they have many things to steal. So why did the thieves come to her house? Why hadn't they just taken what was there, however little there was, and left? She was asleep when they arrived; it was still pitch black outside as well. They broke the door down and started shouting, waking everyone up. The little girl's father stood up them and told them to leave._

_One of the thieves, the leader, he didn't like the man's tone. It only took him a second to make the decision, and with a quick nod of his head two of his followers had attacked the man and began to cut into his skin with curved blades. Her mother screamed and her brother pushed the little girl into a small compartment in the hallway. And now she watched as one by one her family was cut down, the men never stopping as all five of them seemed more than excited and pleased at the idea of their acts. The little girl watched through a small crack in the board in front of her, unable to look away from the gruesome sight._

_By the time they were finished, the thieves were grunting with exertion and sweat, and one by one they finally left. There was a sea of blood on the floor, and still the little girl could not move. She stayed, frozen like a statue, unable to say or do anything but stare at the sight before her. The girl stared in shock as the morning lights filtered into the house. She stared in shock when someone from the village came looking for the family, wondering why they hadn't shown up to work. She stared in shock when the villager screamed and ran from the sight, rushing off to get some help. She stared in shock when they all arrived and stared in horror at the sight. She stared in shock when they finally realized that the little girl was not among the body pieces strewn all over the house._

_She stared in shock when the board in front of her was finally removed to reveal her hiding spot. A villager stared at her with sad eyes, and then looked to the crack in the board. The villager stared at her, horrified at the thought of what she witnessed. The little girl did not notice them. She could not really see them. The only thing she could see was blood. So much blood._

_She hadn't spoken to anyone since that night. It wasn't because she couldn't speak, but because she didn't want to. She had nothing to say to anybody, and she wished they would understand. But they didn't. The villagers thought she should move on and start being productive. She didn't know how to be productive. She was alone and the village had taken her in as a ward, though it was easy to tell they didn't like the little girl very much. They were mean to her, most of the time. Which she never really minded. It was when the beat her that bothered her. The physical pain was one thing, but it was the actions that troubled her so much. She didn't understand why they couldn't understand that she was just afraid._

_She was so very afraid. There was blood everywhere again. Only this time she was standing in it, and she had no idea how to stop it. The watched as the thieves looked at her with a murderous gleam in their eyes._

"_Looks like we missed one," the leader stated. They came forward and surrounded the girl, weapons high in the air._

Rin woke with a start just before they attacked, a scream lodged in her throat and her heart dropping into the pit of her stomach. She trembled as she looked around wildly, trying to remember where she was. For a moment she believed she was still back in the village, but eventually the image of the forest she was in got through to her senses. She put a hand over her still racing heart and frowned, trying to calm herself. She was still so exhausted but the thought of having that dream again motivated the girl to stay awake. A-Un was still asleep next to her, and Jaken was nowhere to be found. He was probably down by the river. And Lord Sesshomaru still hadn't returned from wherever he went.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, laying her head down. Nothing to do now but wait for Lord Sesshomaru to return to her.

* * *

"You look like you haven't slept at all, Rin!" Jaken, the little imp, exclaimed. Rin hadn't gone back to sleep, but instead stared at the stars while she waited for Jaken and Lord Sesshomaru to return. It was well into the morning now and Rin was about to head off into the forest to find some breakfast when Jaken finally returned. She shrugged a little and smiled.

"I slept a little. I'm hungry Master Jaken."

Jaken scoffed and turned from her. "Well then go find yourself some food then."

Rin smiled and headed off into the brush, already knowing where she could find some berries and fruit. Maybe she'd catch a fish or two as well down by the river. She hadn't slept at all, but she honestly didn't feel all that tired.

* * *

Morning had passed without much activity. Rin quickly ate her leftover breakfast for lunch and returned to A-Un, sitting upon his back and staring up at the clouds.

"You're being really quiet today, Rin," Jaken stated, crossing his arms and looking at her from atop Un's head. A, not used to hearing noises from his second head, quickly turned to assess the noise, effectively bumping snouts with Un, knocking Jaken off balance. He yelled out in alarm as he fell from Un's head and onto the ground with a soft thump. Rin giggled at him and turned her attention back to the clouds. "You think that's funny do you?" Jaken shouted, scrambling back onto A-Un's back and glaring at Rin. "You shouldn't laugh at my pain, especially since you're just—" he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as a rather large stone suddenly pelted into the side of his head, knocking him clear off of A-Un once more. Rin gasped and sat up, turning towards sudden movement.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru called, his voice void of emotion. "Must you always be so loud?"

"Lord Sesshomaru!" they both called, Jaken skittering once more back onto A-Un.

"You're back!" Jaken called, stating the obvious. Sesshomaru walked up to them and looked at Rin, his face an expressionless mask.

Rin was smiling at him. "I'm so happy to see you Lord Sesshomaru. You were gone for three whole days."

Sesshomaru nodded in acknowledgement. "And how did you fare?"

"Just fine," Rin said with a shrug. Sesshomaru kept his eyes on her face, taking in the dark circles under her eyes.

"Don't lie to me, Rin."

She fidgeted a little before laughing. "I guess I didn't sleep real well. No big deal."

"I told her that she should have slept more!" Jaken exclaimed, rubbing the two bumps on his head. He jumped off of A-Un to stand by Sesshomaru. Rin just shrugged again, but Sesshomaru was still staring at her. He knew she had nightmares, and he knew that she wouldn't share them with him. She didn't want to burden him with something so silly, not to mention she deemed it unimportant and wasn't worth mentioning, despite the fact that sometimes it affected her health. Sesshomaru himself had only witness her having nightmares twice since she's been traveling with him, but he knew she had them more frequently when he was away. He vaguely wondered why, but then he realized giving it too much thought wouldn't do any good. And with that final thought, he turned and began to walk, stepping right onto Jaken who was still babbling. Rin giggled again as A-Un automatically started to follow Sesshomaru, Jaken eventually getting up and calling after them, running to catch up.

* * *

The sun had only set about an hour ago, and typically Sesshomaru would walk much further in a days travel before stopping for the night. However, he once again heard Rin yawning and he stopped, looking over his shoulder at her. She looked exhausted. Jaken bumped into his leg and stumbled back.

"Uh, why have we stopped, my Lord?" he asked.

"We're stopping here for the night."

"Already? Why so soon?" he asked, rushing after Sesshomaru who had begun walking again.

Sesshomaru was becoming annoyed at Jaken's insistent pestering. "Jaken, if you ask me one more foolish question, I will kill you." Jaken squeaked and shut up, gripping onto his staff a little tighter and just obediently following Sesshomaru as he led them all into a clearing. There was a lake not far down the bank and plenty of resting space. After checking to make sure there were no other youkai's in the area, Sesshomaru let himself rest against the base of a tree. Jaken didn't need to be told twice as he gripped onto the very edge of Sesshomaru's mokomoko-sama and promptly fell asleep. Rin hopped down from A-Un and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She was glad Sesshomaru wanted to stop so early tonight. Perhaps he was tired from whatever he had been doing for the past three days. A-Un found a comfortable spot behind the tree Sesshomaru was laying against and laid down, falling asleep as well.

"I'm really glad you're back, Lord Sesshomaru," Rin said quietly, smiling again. She sat next to him against the back of the tree and closed her eyes, and Sesshomaru could hear when her breathing changed to signal she was asleep. He sat in silence for a while, staring out at nothing in particular. Eventually he settled himself back against his mokomoko-sama and tried to sleep, but stopped when he felt Rin's weight press against his side. Still asleep, Rin unconsciously gripped onto the mokomoko-sama and cuddled into it, breathing out a sigh of relief against the soft fur. Sesshomaru frowned a little. Normally he would wake her up and inform her to move at least a little, but he stared at the dark circle under her eyes, he realized it wouldn't do any good. She needed to sleep or she was going to have to rest a lot more than usual.

So instead he watched her for a while, wondering what she did to occupy the time in his absence and how she dealt with her nightmares. She never spoke of them, not to him or to Jaken. He started to drift off then, his last thought was wondering if her nightmares would ever go away.


End file.
